Serial: Why you need to listen to this podcast right now

You know I love podcasts. I used to be a voracious consumer of them, listening to episode after episode during the drive to work, back from work, to the gym, back from the gym… I eased up on the listening in recent months, but they may always be a part of my life as a driver.

I’ve been fortunate to get started with excellent podcasts. Some gems I would recommend are:

These are all podcasts worth spending your time on, but my absolute favourite at the moment — the podcast you need to drop everything to listen to — is Serial.

It’s a true crime series that unfolds parts of a case with each episode. It’s absolutely engaging because reporter Sarah Koenig has a knack for piecing together evidence and weaving everything into a narrative that is both personal and professional. You hear her voice, not just as a journalist trying to get to the bottom of a case, but also as a person who grapples with the puzzling pieces and parts that come with the ultimate possibility that lingers at the back of my mind all the time:

What if Adnan Syed didn’t do it?

Koenig is masterful at getting you to appreciate the significance of ‘facts’ in the same way she does… except she doesn’t tell you what to believe. She just points things out and lets the audience make their own judgments. I pretty much arrive at the same place she does by the end of the show. That’s a masterful producer for you.